Bereaved families and surviving victims of last year’s deadly crowd crush in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul say they have been left to deal with their pain on their own, as governmental resources were either unavailable or insufficient. Among the 159 people who died after overcrowding reached catastrophic levels in Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, was Choi Joung-joo’s daughter Yu-jin. “My wife wanted to get therapy after our daughter passed, so she made a call to our district offic

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023

On a Saturday night in October, dozens of people were lined up outside the Waikiki Beach Pub in the narrow alley behind the Hamilton Hotel, in Itaewon, Seoul. “We should have arrived before 8:30 p.m.," one said. "There are always lines around 8:30 p.m. these days during the weekend. I heard that we need to wait more than 30 minutes to enter." It was not the only packed bar on Itaewon World Food Street, the center of Itaewon nightlife. Most bars along the street were full of

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023

Police searched former Taekwang Group Chairman Lee Ho-jin’s home and the company’s affiliated companies over allegations against Lee of embezzlement and breach of trust on Tuesday. Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency searched Lee’s home, as well as Taekwang Group's office in the Heungkuk Life Insurance Building in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, and Taekwang Country Club in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to secure evidence regarding Lee’s suspected crime.

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Korea Centre will release a video centered on career mentoring for ASEAN students residing in South Korea on Thursday. As part of their “Hey ASEAN” series, the video aims to help students from ASEAN member countries in Korea explore career opportunities and prepare for employment. Both students and mentors will be featured in the video to answer questions regarding the recruitment process and work life in Korea. The video will be released on

Social Affairs Oct. 24, 2023

Concerns are growing about the growing presence of fall webworms, which are not harmful to humans but can damage trees, spotted more frequently across the country this month. Several social media users have also expressed their complaints about the fall webworms especially at Han River parks. One user on X -- formerly known as Twitter -- wrote, “If you’re visiting Han River, make sure to bring a tent or bug spray. These caterpillars have taken over the park.” Seoul Facilities C

Social Affairs Oct. 22, 2023

The government will focus its efforts on crowd control during the upcoming Halloween weekend, working together with local governments, police and fire departments and dispatching situation managers to densely populated areas, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said Thursday. The Ministry of Interior and Safety held a joint meeting the same day with officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Police Agency, the National Fire Agency and 17 district governments including Yongsa

Social Affairs Oct. 19, 2023

Step into the crisp autumn air, as a multitude of community festivities in Seoul are poised to breathe life into the foliage season this month. Taking place from Oct. 13-22, visitors can enjoy the fall scenery and weather through a walk in the park and a gala concert. Alternatively, immerse yourself and learn more about Korean culture by taking part in evening events or visiting the Bukchon Hanok Village. Here is a list of some of the fall festivities set to take place in Seoul. Gyeongchun Lin

weekender Oct. 14, 2023

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Thursday that it will implement a system that alerts authorities of overcrowded areas. The city government’s new safety plan comes nearly a year after the deadly Halloween crowd crush that killed 159 people in the neighborhood of Itaewon in 2022, and is intended to prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. The city government stated that it will implement a system that automatically counts the number of people shown on surveillance

Social Affairs Oct. 13, 2023

Phrases that may be perceived as discriminatory towards women and the elderly found in a Korean language textbook published by the Korea Foundation -- a non-profit public diplomacy organization run under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- have remained unedited for three years, despite earlier criticism. According to a parliamentary audit report submitted to Rep. Kim Sang-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea on Tuesday, the Korea Foundation is still working on correcting the expressions written

Social Affairs Oct. 10, 2023

Seoul on Monday unveiled its plans for developing an artificial intelligence-based system to monitor and track unusual behavior among subway passengers, including instances of violence, with the goal of completing the system by the end of the year. The announcement from Seoul Metro and the Seoul Digital Foundation comes in the wake of a series of incidents that have heightened public concern about safety on the subway, including a stabbing incident on Line No. 2 in August that saw two passengers

Social Affairs Oct. 9, 2023

North Korea’s state media, including Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central Television, dropped the term “Nam Joseon” -- South Joseon -- when referring to South Korea in a recent sports broadcast. Instead, North Korea’s state media used the term “goeroe,” which means “puppets” to indicate South Korea. A score graphic televised by Korean Central Television referred to South Korea as such during a women’s quarterfinal soccer match during the Hangzhou

North Korea Oct. 8, 2023

Individuals who regularly suffer from stress-related disorders are at a higher risk of developing dementia, according to a new study on Thursday. Professor Jang Sung-in’s research team from Yonsei University’s department of preventive medicine discovered a connection between stress and dementia by studying 8,906 patients diagnosed with stress-related disorders and 26,718 patients without such disorders over 11 years. The findings were published in the latest issue of the internationa

Social Affairs Oct. 5, 2023

Two new Seoul Guided Walking Tour courses in Seoul are now available for tourists to explore historical and cultural sites, Seoul Tourism Organization and Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. Both tours are available in seven languages -- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese -- and have interpretation services for the visually and hearing impaired. “Hidden Stories of Hangang-daero, Yongsan” is a 3.5-kilometer walking tour that starts at Yongsan S

Social Affairs Oct. 4, 2023

With autumn now here, Seoul's district offices will be hosting a variety of festivals open to everyone and free of charge. The festivities will take place Oct. 3-9 and include dance performances, a city run, K-pop performance, a competitive parade, a street sports beer party and fashion shows. The following is a list of the district festivals set to take place celebrating the return of fall. World Folk Dance Festival in Seongdong After a four-year hiatus, Seongdong-gu in eastern Seoul wil

Travel Oct. 1, 2023

The first Mayors' Forum of the 12th biennial World Cities Summit Mayors Forum took place on Monday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in eastern Seoul. "I am pleased to discuss sustainable and inclusive cities in Seoul, where 'accompanying the weak' is a core value," said Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon while delivering his welcoming remarks at the forum on Monday. Oh also shared the city government's policy achievements with "Seoul Learn," an online learning platform for

Social Affairs Sept. 25, 2023